This invention relates to a tool for installing shrink fit parts and a method therefor.
Where there is a need to fit one part into another for a very tight relationship between the two, it is common practice to shrink one part before installing it in the second part and allowing the second part to expand against the second part to form a so-called shrink fit there between.
To shrink fit a part into another is difficult because of the inability to maintain the shrunken part in such a condition and thus maintain dimensional control of the part while positioning it precisely into the second part. It is one thing to shrink the part by applying a cooling media, such as liquid nitrogen, LN.sub.2, and it is yet another thing to maintain the part in its shrunken condition while attempting to fit it into the second part. The shrunken part naturally tends to warm up and expand which makes the precise positioning of the two parts a difficult task.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a tool in which the part to be shrunk fit into another is held and continually subjected to a cooling media while precisely positioned in the second part so that dimensional control of the shrunken part and the tool is maintained until so positioned whereupon the cooling media is removed and the part warms and expands in place in the second part.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a method of installing a part in shrink fit relationship in another part by continually subjecting the part to be shrunk to a cooling media while the part is being installed in another part and removing the cooling media after installation so that the part is allowed to expand in place to form a shrink fit relationship with the second part.